1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for controlling a microfluidic system and a control method thereof The present invention relates to a microfluidic system that allows a series of biochemical procedures, starting from an extraction of a target cell or genetic material (e.g. deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)) from a biological sample to an amplification of the genetic material, and to a biochemical reaction employing the amplified genetic material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a microfluidic structure that composes a microfluidic apparatus or device includes a chamber for containing a trace amount of fluid, a channel through which fluid flows, a valve that can control a flow of fluid, and functional units that can perform various functions, such as chemical or biological reactions, separation, purification and detection of a target substance, on the fluid. A biochip is a structure that is obtained by arranging a plurality of such microfluidic structures on a chip-type substrate in order to perform various assays including biological and biochemical reactions using the microfluidic structures on a chip. Particularly, a device that is designed to perform multiple steps of processes and operations using a single chip is called a lab-on-a chip.
A driving pressure is generally required to transfer fluid within a microfluidic structure. A capillary pressure is one example of the driving pressure. In some cases, a pressure generated by a specifically prepared pump is used as the driving pressure. A lab-on-a compact disk (CD) is a recently introduced microfluidic device that is obtained by arranging microfluidic structures on a compact disk-shaped rotary body and uses centrifugal force. However, due to the characteristic of a rotary body that is usually not affixed to a frame but is instead free to move, controlling a fluid flow or temperature within a lab-on-a CD may be difficult.